Visions of Mystery
by doodlegirll
Summary: [Formally Alita] Nine year old Alita is the daughter of Pocahontas and John Smith. When a mysterious enemy begins to target the original Virginia Company members, it's up to Alita to solve the mystery and protect the people she loves. PLZ R&R! COMPLETE
1. Prologue

Alita

Prologue

Alita was supposed to be sleeping. But she couldn't. Not with her parents talking downstairs. She knew they were talking about something they didn't want her to know about, and she was bound a determined to find out what it was. She carefully crept to the stairs and sat on the top one, listening to what her parents had to say.

"But why now? That was all those years ago!" Pocahontas, Alita's mother, said.

"I know, but it was just brought up again. Just because it happened in 1607 doesn't mean it won't be brought up again." Alita's father John said.

_1607. Three years before I was born._ Alita thought. Whatever her parents were talking about, it happened long ago.

"But it's been twelve years, John! Why can't they just give it a rest?" Pocahontas protested.

"Because they just won't, Pocahontas. I don't know why. But Ben was just put in the jailhouse yesterday. Nobody will tell me why, but I'll tell you this: Ben did nothing wrong."

_Ben? Ben wouldn't do anything bad enough to get himself into that much trouble! Would he?_ Alita thought, remembering her father's friend Ben. John had a lot of friends in Jamestown, but Ben was one of the men that came with her father to Virginia with the Virginia Company.

"But Ratcliffe is dead, John! Who would be doing this?"

"I don't know, but you can bet I'm going to find out." John answered.

"Just be careful, whatever you do." Pocahontas said.

"I will. You don't have to worry." John promised. "Whatever is going on, I'm going to find out."

"I know you will."

"But don't tell Alita. You know her. She'll try to take matters into her own hands." John said after a pause.

"Sound familiar, if you ask me." Pocahontas said with a smile.

"How?" John asked, looking bewildered.

"John Smith, she's just like you. You can't say she isn't you daughter! Anyone who knows you knows Alita." Pocahontas said. Alita smiled. It was true. She certainly was her father's daughter.

Alita was both of her parents rolled into one. She had brown eyes like her mother and blonde hair like her father. She had her mother's adventurous ways and determination and her father's stubbornness.

"First thing in the morning, I'll go and see what I can find out." John said. He started for the stairs and Alita ran back to her room, did a nosedive into the bed and covered her head. She closed her eyes and prayed her father wouldn't know she was awake. He didn't; he walked right by her door and headed to bed. After Pocahontas joined him, Alita sat up. Her parents were hiding something. Something big was going to happen. Alita didn't know what it was, but she was going to find out.

"I don't know what they're hiding, but I know it's something big." Alita said to herself. "But why don't they want me to know?"

Alita laid back down. She couldn't help but worry. Ben was the second man that week to be put in jail. The thing was, both Ben and Hal, the other man, had been with her father when he came to Virginia. Was whoever was putting them in jail targeting the first settlers in the New World? And would her father be targeted, too?

**A/N- Hello, all! I hope you like this so far. Me being me, I'm going for a Pocahontas fanfic that hasn't been put into a certain catagory yet! This one is ACTION/ADVENTURE/MYSTERY. Alita, by the way, is pronounced a-LEE-ta. **

**This idea and story plot hasn't left my mind all day! It'll be pretty long. I hope you guys will like it!**

**Anyway, please review! **

**-Robin**


	2. Virginia Company Arrests

Chapter One

The next morning, Alita awoke early as usual. She yawned as she sat up. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and jumped out of bed. She walked down the stairs. It was going to be a good day, Alita hoped.

"Morning, Daddy." She said. John turned and smiled.

"Morning." He said.

"Where are you going? It's Saturday, the day we go see Grandfather." Alita said.

"I'll be to the village later, Alita. I have to see a friend about a situation." John said. Alita shrugged. She didn't want to give away that she knew that there was more to his story than he was telling her. She would be in trouble for sure if her parents knew she had eavesdropped! She knew it was wrong, but she hated it when her parents kept things from her.

"Naomi was just here looking for you." John added, mentioning Alita's best friend Naomi, Thomas's daughter.

"Oh, thanks!" Alita said. She ran up the stairs and got dressed in her mother's village's clothes. They were more comfortable and she wore them more than anything else. She nearly knocked John off of the staircase as she ran from the house.

"Bye, Dad!" She called. John shook his head. She was as energetic as Meeko had been when he was younger.

"Naomi!" Alita called out to Naomi, who was sitting on the ground under the shade of a tree. Naomi looked up, hoped to her feet, and ran to greet Alita.

"Alita! I was just looking for you." Naomi said. Naomi was Alita's best friend in Jamestown. Her two village friends were Nakoma's son Retja and a girl named Leilani.

"Daddy told me." Alita said. "Naomi, can you keep a secret?"

"Alita, we've known each other for our whole lives! You know I can!" Naomi said.

"Last night, I heard my parents talking. Ben was arrested." Alita said.

"Ben? You mean Ben Brown? The one who's always going around making bad jokes? Ben?" Naomi asked. Alita nodded.

"Yes, that Ben." She said. "According to Daddy, he's the second one arrested this month."

"People get arrested everyday, Alita. That's nothing new." Naomi pointed out.

"You're missing the point, Naomi. Ben and Hal are friends of our fathers. And our fathers were a part of the Virginia Company that came here twelve years ago!" Alita said.

"What are you meaning, Alita?"

"I mean that isn't a bit odd that the last two people arrested were _both_ a part of the Virginia Company?"

"I guess it is a bit odd." Naomi agreed. She and Alita were quiet a minute. Then, the Jamestown sheriff Sheriff Laney walked by. He was headed towards Lon Allen's door.

"See what I mean, Naomi? Sheriff Laney is headed towards Lon's house! I don't know what he's doing, but I can guess. If he's arresting Lon, then that only leaves Harold Sullivan, Samuel Truman, Henry Wilson and…" Alita stopped.

"What? Alita, who else?" Naomi asked.

"Our dads." Alita said, looking at Naomi. Naomi looked worried. Thomas was the only person Naomi had. Her mother Kathleen had died during childbirth and her father had never remarried and never would.

"Alita, who would be doing this?" Naomi asked.

"I don't know. Dad went to see what he could find out about Ben, but I doubt he'll learn much." Alita answered. Who could be doing this? Her father had no enemies that she knew of. Then she remembered her mother mentioning someone the night before. Ratcliffe. But who was Ratcliffe? She couldn't ask her father or mother about it! She'd be in trouble for sure for eavesdropping! She hadn't meant to; she had just not been able to sleep. But who else could she ask? Alita could only think of one person, er, friend. And that friend was her mother's mentor, Grandmother Willow. Grandmother Willow had been her mother's mother, Alsoomse's, mentor before Pocahontas, and now she was Alita's, too. And most likely, if Alita ever had a daughter, she would be hers, too.

"I think I know who I can ask. Bye, Naomi, I have to go with Mama to the village today!" She said. "But don't forget to tell your dad to watch out." Naomi nodded.

"I will, thanks, Alita. Be careful." She said and Alita ran off to find her mother and head out for the village.


	3. The Village Visit

Chapter Two

Alita was quiet the whole walk to the village. Pocahontas didn't know why her chatterbox daughter was so quiet, but she didn't ask. Alita was deep in thought. Who could be doing this to the Virginia Company men? If Ratcliffe was dead, as her mother had said, then who would be doing this?

"Alita? Is something bothering you?" Pocahontas finally asked. Alita sighed.

"Yes. Mama, have you noticed something odd? I mean, how all the men that Daddy traveled with are being arrested?" Pocahontas nodded.

"I have." She answered.

"I heard today that Ben Brown was arrested. And Naomi and I saw Sheriff Laney headed for Lon Allen's house." Alita said.

"Lon was arrested?" Pocahontas asked. Alita nodded.

"Mama, that's three people in one week."

"I know. I'm starting to worry myself." Pocahontas agreed.

"Mama, you and I both know it's only a matter of time before they come for Daddy."

"I know." Pocahontas agreed softly. "But trust me, your father has been in bigger scrapes, as he'd put it. He'll find a way to work this out."

"I hope so, Mama." Alita said. They were almost at the village now. Retja and Leilani came running to the edge of the village.

"Finally!" Retja said. "We were wondering if you were coming today!"

"Crazy! I'm here now." Alita said. Retja, who was her age, like Naomi, was an energetic, often sarcastic boy. Leilani, who was a year younger, was often quiet, but she was strong and would help anyone who needed her. "Let me go say hi to my Grandfather and I'll be back."

"OK." Retja said. He and Leilani waved to her as she walked to her grandfather's hut.

Powhatan was getting old. His health was good, but he had seemed to slow down in the years past and he couldn't do as much as he could. He could no longer fight. He could no longer do a lot of things and Pocahontas was almost always worried about him, and Alita, too. She knew good and well that when her grandfather died, which she hoped would not be anytime soon, her mother, being the only child of Powhatan and Alsoomse, would have to move back to the village and she and John would have to take over. Most of the time, only men were allowed to be a chief, but Pocahontas was different. Alita knew that her mother and father had a special relationship. She knew that her father had come from England, met her mother, and almost died from being shot after protecting Powhatan. Alita had forgotten who had shot her father. She knew that her mother had saved her father's life in more ways than one, but she didn't know why John had been almost put to death in the first place. All she knew was that it took her dad a year to recover and return to Pocahontas. Two years after he returned, he and Pocahontas were married and had her.

"Father?" Pocahontas called.

"Pocahontas! Alita! Come on in!" Powhatan called. Alita ducked as she and her mother entered the hut.

"Wingapo, daughter." Powhatan said. "Wingapo, Alita."

"Wingapo, Grandfather." Alita said.

"Where's John?" Powhatan asked.

"Things aren't going so well in Jamestown, Father. The original settlers are being arrested one by one. John went to see what he could do about it." Pocahontas explained. Powhatan looked worried.

"But Pocahontas, John was one of the original explorers…"

"I know." Pocahontas said.

"We know it's only a matter of time." Alita said. Deep in her heart, she knew that something bad was going to come out of this, but she didn't know how or when. She had to talk to Grandmother Willow.

"Alita, Retja and Leilani were looking for you." Powhatan said. Alita nodded.

"I know." She said.

"And Nakoma was looking for you, Pocahontas."

"I'll go find her." Pocahontas said. She got up and went to find her oldest friend.

"I'll be back later, Grandfather." Alita said as she, too, rose to her feet.

"Alright, Granddaughter." Powhatan said. He nodded and Alita left.

"Alita!" Retja called. Alita turned to find him running towards her with Leilani close behind.

"Wingapo, Retja. Wingapo, Leilani."

"What do you want to do?" Leilani asked. Alita shrugged.

"I don't know." She said.

Retja was nine, just like her. Leilani was eight, a year younger. Retja and Leilani were the children of Nakoma, Pocahontas's best friend. Retja was a stubborn, even more so than Alita and John put together, and was always getting himself, Leilani, and Alita into trouble. Leilani was quieter and went along with whatever anyone wanted to do.

"We could go swimming. Who knows when we'll get to do that again, now that harvesting has started and it'll soon be fall again." Retja suggested. Leilani and Alita agreed.

"Or we could go canoeing. That'll get us wet." Leilani said.

"I like that even better. We could find the rapids." Alita said. "Just don't tell Daddy." She said with a smile. John would have a fit if he knew his daughter was out in a canoe in the worst rapids around. They were dangerous, but that didn't stop them from going there every once in a while. Because they were dangerous, no one ever went there, so no one ever knew.

"Yeah, come on!" Retja said. Alita knew now she wouldn't get to Grandmother Willow today, but that didn't mean she wouldn't tomorrow! She always stayed in the village on the weekends, and tomorrow was Sunday. She could get up really early and go see Grandmother Willow and then come back and spend the day with her Grandfather, Retja, and Leilani. And maybe her father would know something about the arrests.

...oOo...

"Why can't we tell your father, Alita?" Leilani asked out of the blue while on their way to the rapids. Alita, who was in front, looked over her shoulder.

"He's just worried. I'd be worried if he wasn't. I understand. You know how parents are." She said. "Mama said he just worries a lot because I'm the only child they have. He's fine with me going out and exploring. He says I too much like Mama to not go out and explore."

"I know what you mean. Mother is always worried about what kind of trouble we'll get into next." Retja said.

"Mama knows we come out here. She said she used to come out here with Aunt Nakoma all the time." Alita went on.

The rapids came into view and Alita looked back at her friends.

"Ready?" She asked with a smile.

"Ready!" Leilani and Retja said at the same time.

"Alright!" Alita said. She guided the canoe towards the rapids. With Retja steering, she knew they were headed towards the safer part of the rapids. Suddenly, Alita noticed that something was wrong. The current had changed! They were now headed straight for the worst and most dangerous part of the rapids!

"Retja! Leilani! Hold on! The current changed!"

"What?! What do you mean the current changed?!" Retja asked.

"I don't know why or how it changed! It just did! Hold on!" Alita said. She looked back at the rapids. "Retja! Make sure we don't get turned over!"

"Alright!" Retja called over the roar of the rapids.

"Look out!" Leilani screamed.

The next thing Alita knew, she was soaked and gasping for air. She coughed out water and looked around.

"Retja! Leilani!" She called. Leilani and Retja surfaced.

"What happened?" Retja asked.

"We obviously go turned over." Alita said. Then she saw the canoe. It was in pieces.

"That could have been us, Alita!" Leilani said. Alita nodded and began to swim to the other side of the bank.

"It's a good thing my dad isn't here. He'd have a fit!" Alita said as she rung out her hair.

"It's a very good thing he's not here." Retja agreed.

"And who says I'm not?" A voice said. Alita whirled around to find a none-too-happy John.

**A/N- I think Alita is in trouble. But it's not like John _never _got into trouble! I mean, come on, he hid a dead fish and old cheese in his fireplace and skipped school! **

**Please review!**

**-Robin**


	4. Trouble

Chapter Three

Alita gulped; she knew she was done for this time. John walked forward, his face angry with concern. His eyes narrowed as he put his hands on Alita's shoulders.

"What the heck do you think you were doing!?" he yelled in rage, "You could have been seriously hurt or killed! Did you even think before you went into the canoe what could have happened!?"

"We were going for the safer rapids, but the current changed," Alita shouted, not liking being yelled at, "It's not our fault!"

"You shouldn't have been here anyways! You know that you're not supposed to be at the rapids!"

"Mom knows and doesn't care!" Alita spat back. Retja took a step back and Leilani put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Maybe you should quit before he gets madder," Leilani whispered into Alita's ear. She nodded but didn't make a move or a sound.

"That's it, young lady! This will be your last visit to the Village for a long while! We're going home!" John grabbed his daughter's wrists and began to drag her away.

"That's not fair!" Alita protested, trying to pull from her father's strong grip.

"It wasn't her idea, Mr. Smith! It was mine. I had suggested that we go canoeing," Leilani said meekly, not wanting her friend to get in trouble.

John just nodded and kept walking, the scowl still firmly on his face.

"Daddy, please! It wasn't our fault!" Alita pleaded, but her father didn't listen.

"Retja, Leilani, you'd best be getting home. Nakoma was looking for you." John said over his shoulder. Retja and Leilani looked at each other and walked after them. John continued to pull Alita back to the village. He dragged her into the hut where Nakoma and Pocahontas were sitting, talking. Retja and Leilani were right behind him and Alita. Pocahontas took one look at her soaked daughter and her angry husband and knew what had happened.

_Oh no. He caught them at the rapids!_ She thought.

"What happened?" She asked, looking from Alita to John.

"Our daughter, Retja, and Leilani were almost killed at the rapids! Their canoe was smashed in half!" John said, anger still relevant in his voice. Nakoma and Pocahontas exchanged a look. They had survived many a tip like that and never got caught when they were kids, but these were their children.

"Where are Retja and Leilani?" Nakoma asked and Retja and his sister stepped forward.

"What were you thinking?" Nakoma asked. She, too, like John, was angry.

"We were headed for the safer part that Aunt Pocahontas told us to always use and the current changed. It wasn't our fault!" Retja explained.

"It's true, Aunt Nakoma! It wasn't our fault!" Alita said, glancing at her father.

"I know." Nakoma said. "You can't control the current."

"Let's go, Alita." John said and Alita shot her friends a look, apologizing that their weekend had been messed up. She went along with her parents.

"Go to your hut and stay there." John said.

"But Daddy…" Alita started to protest.

"Alita, please." John said, shaking his head. Alita looked at her mother, who shook her head.

"Do as he says, Alita." She said. Alita turned and ran to her small village hut. She sat down on her pallet.

"It's not fair!" She said to the aging Meeko. "It's not fair! We didn't mean to! We didn't mean to do that." Meeko looked up and shrugged. Alita couldn't believe that her dad wouldn't listen to her. She needed Grandmother Willow's advice now. But she knew that if she snuck out, she'd be in even more trouble than she already was. She just sat there and stared up at the sky through the hole at the top of her small hut. She sat there for the rest of the day, until the sky turned a dark bluish color.

"Alita?" Alita looked towards the door to find her father.

"Wingapo, Dad." She said.

"Look, Alita, I'm sorry I got so mad earlier, but I was just worried. When I saw you three in that canoe, headed straight for those rapids, I could just see you getting killed." John said and Alita's anger melted a bit.

"If something ever happened to you, I'd never be able to live with myself."

"I know, Daddy. And I'm sorry, too. I thought I had everything covered." Alita said. John came over and sat beside her.

"I guess we both need to think we both need to think before we act." He said.

"Yeah, I think we do." Alita agreed. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, Alita. I love you, too."

**A/N- I don't know about ya'll, but I'm glad the feud between John and Alita is over! **

**SPECIAL THANKS TO SOPHIE. I had writers block at the beginning of this chapter and she helped me write it! She wrote the first part, so THANKS SOPH!**

**Review, please!**

**-Robin**


	5. The Vision

Chapter Four

Three days passed. Alita and her parents returned to Jamestown to find that Henry Wilson, Harold Sullivan, and Samuel Truman arrested. That left Thomas and John. Alita wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew that it was only a matter of time before it was her father and Naomi's father in those cold jail cells as well.

...oOo...

"_But this is their land!" Yelled John. The fat man began to yell and rant again, but soon went into his threat and leaned in close to John's face._

"_This is **my**__land! I make the laws here. And I say, anyone who some much as looks at an Indian without killing him on site, will be tried for treason, and hanged!" _

Alita sat up.

"That was weird." She said to herself. She had never had a dream like that before. It had seemed so real. Her father had been there, with Thomas, Ben, Lon, and the others, and a man Alita did not know. Who was that? And what did her dream mean?

Alita got out of bed and walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes. Before she reached the front room, she heard voices.

"I'm sorry, John. But the law's the law, you know that." Alita froze. That was Sheriff Laney's voice. Her heart beat as fast as Flit's wings. She walked into the living room, only to see her father in shackles. She looked at Pocahontas, who was just staring at the ground.

"No." Alita said. John's head snapped up.

"Alita!"

"You can't take him away! What has he done to anyone!? What have any of the men that you've arrested lately done to anyone!?" Alita screamed at Sheriff Laney. He looked at her with pity, as if she could not understand what he had to say.

"It does not concern you," Sheriff Laney said in a slightly snobbish voice, "It only concerns your father, myself, and the Governor. You would not understand anyway."

"Don't underestimate me! What are the charges?" she spat back.

"I am not at liberty to say," Sheriff Laney replied in a cold tone, "The Governor wants this matter to be kept quiet. Now if you will just come with me, John." He grabbed the shackles on John and walked towards the door.

Alita sprinted for the door, rushing under Sheriff Laney's legs to reach it. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Sheriff Laney. "You can't arrest a person without them knowing the charges."

"It's OK, Alita," John said quietly, "I know what the charges are, and I will prove them wrong. Don't make a big fuss over this."

"But Dad-" Alita started to say.

"No buts about it. Stay here with your mother; I will be fine, honest." John was led out of their house.

"That's what he said to me when my people had captured him and _look_ what happened," Pocahontas muttered to herself.

Alita looked at her mother, feeling the tears wet on her cheeks.

"What?" She asked. Alita had never been told that her father had been captured by her mother's people. She knew that her father had almost been put to death, but not by the other half of her heritage!

"Alita, sit down." Pocahontas commanded. Alita did.

"When your father and I first met, there was a war uprising between our people. One night, your father and I met at Grandmother Willow to warn each other that attacks were about to be made on our peoples. Your father was captured by my people." She explained. Alita looked at her.

"And then what?" She asked.

"Well, they took him back to the village and your grandfather, my father, sentenced him to death."

"Why?! What did Dad do?"

"Nothing." Pocahontas said, looking up at her daughter.

"So it's just like now! He did nothing and he was taken away!" Alita said through her tears, which continued to fall.

"I know." Pocahontas went on. "I went to see him."

"What do you mean?"

"I went to see him. I had to say goodbye." Pocahontas said. "I told him I was sorry that this happened. He told me not to be, that it wasn't my fault. He told me that I had changed him and that he would rather die than not know me. I had to leave and I couldn't. He told me he would be okay. He told me he would always be with me, even when he was gone."

"It's not fair!" Alita sobbed. "Daddy didn't do anything!"

"Alita, your father was arrested because of a law made when we first met." Pocahontas said, turning Alita's chin to look at her.

"What was that?" Alita asked.

"A man named Ratcliffe told him that if he didn't shoot any native he saw in the woods, he would be hanged."

Alita was stunned. The man in her dream – the one that threatened her father – that was Ratcliffe. He was the one that had threatened not only her father's life, but her mother, too, all those years ago. But more than anything, Alita knew now that that hadn't been a dream. It had been a vision.

**A/N- Alita has had a vision from the past…What could it be telling her? Is it trying to tell her something about the mystery and how she should solve it? Good thing Ratcliffe is dead!**

**-Robin**


	6. Explanation

Chapter Five

Pocahontas went on. "Anyway, at sunrise, I realized that I couldn't let your grandfather kill him. I saved him."

"I knew you saved his life, but I didn't know that _Grandfather_ was the one that tried to kill him." Alita said and Pocahontas nodded.

"Your grandfather was quite different then from what he is now." Pocahontas said.

"Mama, last night, I had a dream. Daddy was there, and Thomas, too. And Ben and Lon and the others. And there was a man there that I've never seen before. He threatened Daddy that if he didn't kill the first Indian he saw, he'd hang him! Mama, I think I had a vision from the past. I think the man was Ratcliffe."

Pocahontas just stared at her daughter. She thought back to twelve years in the past, when she had had the dream about the spinning arrow. She thought back to the moment she met John, to the time he came looking for her in the village cornfield, to the time when she had seen Kocoum get killed, to the time when she had gone to tell John goodbye. To the time she saved the life of the man that had taught her how to love. To the time when he was almost taken from her again. Her eyes filled with tears as memories came flooding back.

"Mama, I'm going to solve this mystery and set Daddy free! Don't worry about me, I'll get Naomi and Retja and Leilani to help me!" Alita went on.

"No, Alita!" Pocahontas said, taking her daughter's hands in hers. "Don't! It's too risky! If something happened to you, what would I do?"

"We can't just do nothing! Daddy needs us, Mama! I won't let them keep him and the others locked up for a law made twelve years ago!" Alita said and turned and ran from the house.

"Alita, wait!" Pocahontas called, but Alita kept running. She ran to Thomas's house and knocked on the door.

"The door's open!" Thomas called from inside. Alita ran in.

"Alita, what is it?" Naomi asked, putting down her book. Alita stopped to catch her breath. Thomas looked from Naomi back to Alita.

"Sheriff Laney just came and arrested Daddy!" Alita puffed.

"What?" Thomas demanded.

"They took him away, Thomas!" Alita repeated.

"Alita, stay here. I'm going to see what I can do. Is your mother alright?"

"Yes, she's fine." Alita nodded. Thomas nodded and ran from the house.

"Do you think they'll come for him next?" Naomi asked. "Dad is the only person I have, Alita! At least you have your mother. If my dad gets killed, I won't have anyone!"

"They're _not_ going to get killed, Naomi. I'm going to solve mystery. Will you help me?"

"I will."

...oOo...

Meanwhile, Sheriff Laney shoved John into a cell and nearly dragged him to the cell wall, where he put his hands in too small cuffs. John sat on the floor, looking quite miserable. There were no windows in the cell, making it a dull grey. Something caught John's eye as the door was slammed shut. In the corner of the cell was a small rag. It looked to be years old, faded and dirty. The thing that caught John's eye, however, was its color; it was purple.

John laughed; this had been the cell they had kept Ratcliffe in. That must have been one of his handkerchiefs. Footsteps brought him out of his thoughts.

Thomas put his hands onto the bars, looking at John with concern on his face. "You were put in here for…?" Thomas trailed off, knowing that they both knew the reason.

John nodded, "I didn't shoot Pocahontas all those years ago. Now I'm in here for doing the right thing. Ironic, isn't it?"

"Do you know how long you'll be in here?" Thomas asked, still concerned for his friend. John shook his head.

"Hey," Sheriff Laney barked at Thomas, "No talking to the prisoners. Go before I lock you up myself!"

"You'd better go," John said kindly to his friend. "Naomi needs you. I'll be out of here in no time; tell Pocahontas and Alita not to worry about me."

Thomas nodded as he walked out, "I will."

...oOo...

"There's got to be something," Alita said the next day as she searched through Naomi's attic with her friend. They were looking for something, _anything_ that would help their fathers.

"We've been at it for hours and still haven't found anything," Naomi pointed out, "Maybe we should try somewhere else?"

Alita nodded and brushed the dust off of her leggings.

"I don't know what to do!" She said as she sat down again. She began to cry. What was she going to do? Who was doing this? What would happen to John?

"Alita, don't cry. Everything will be fine. I hope." Naomi said. Inside, she, too, knew it was only a matter of time before her dad was in a jail cell just like John was.

"It's not fair, Naomi!" Alita said. "I don't know who or why this is being brought up, but it is!"

"Look, Alita, we aren't going to solve this mystery sitting around. We have to keep looking." Naomi said. "I'm scared, too, but if we don't do something, who will?" Alita looked up at her best friend.

"I know, Naomi. I think I'd better go home." Alita said. She walked out of Naomi's house sadly. Naomi watched her go. She shook her head. She knew she was scared for her dad. Naomi knew because she was scared, too.

...oOo...

"Mama?" Alita asked as she stepped into the house. "Mama?"

Pocahontas was nowhere to be found. Alita didn't know where her mother had gone, and she was worried.

"Mama?" She asked. She ran through the house. Her mother was nowhere. Alita shrugged it off in an effort to calm down. She climbed the stairs to her room and sat down on her bed. She was tired from searching all day and she soon fell asleep.

**A/N- Searching. I wonder what it could be that could help them. And who's doing this?**

**THANKS AGAIN, SOPHIE!**

**-Robi**


	7. The Second Vision

Chapter Six

"_Kocoum!" Pocahontas screamed as a man barreled down towards her and John. The man, Kocoum, knocked John to the ground and pulled out a knife. If not stopped, John would be dead within a second. _

"_No, stop!" Pocahontas screamed as she tried to pull Kocoum away from John. Kocoum went for John's throat and it was a mere inch from it when Pocahontas tried again to pull Kocoum away. A shot rang through the air and Kocoum fell over dead. Thomas ran into the scene with a gun in his hands. _

"_Thomas! What are you doing here?" John asked and Thomas just stared at Kocoum. War cries much like the ones Kocoum had cried before he attacked echoed through the air. "Get out of here!" John commanded. Thomas hesitated before he darted into the thicket. Moments later, the glade swarmed with warriors from Pocahontas's village. Pocahontas looked at John, who suddenly realized his mistake of not running himself. They swarmed around John and dragged him away._

Alita's eyes shot open and she sat upright again. Another vision. What was this one telling her? That her father was going to survive? Or was it telling her he wasn't?

Alita didn't know what the vision meant, but she knew that it was telling her something. This vision had to be from when John was captured by Pocahontas's people! When they met at Grandmother Willow, like Pocahontas had said! Alita shook her head at the memory. Thomas had killed someone. But who? Who was Kocoum?

"Mama?" Alita asked.

"Alita? What is it?" Pocahontas asked, stepping into Alita's room.

"I had another vision." Alita said. "Did you know someone named Kocoum?" Pocahontas's eyes widened at the mention of the name of fierce warrior her father had want so much for her to marry.

"Yes." She said, not taking her eyes off of her daughter. "He was a member of my tribe. But he was killed twelve year ago…" Pocahontas trailed off.

"By Thomas." Alita finished for her quietly. Pocahontas nodded.

"By Thomas."

"Mama, Kocoum was trying to kill Daddy! Who was he?" Alita asked. Pocahontas knew she had a lot of explaining to do when it came to her and John's past. She went over and sat next her daughter.

"When I first met your father, your grandfather wanted for me to marry Kocoum very much. He promised Kocoum my hand in marriage. I refused, of course, and I'm sure you saw why. Kocoum was much too serious and cold-hearted for me. John on the other hand," Pocahontas said.

"Wasn't." Alita said.

"Exactly. The night John was captured by my people, Kocoum saw me kiss your father and he attacked. Thomas saw the fight and killed Kocoum to save John."

"But what was Thomas doing there in the first place?" Alita asked, wondering why Thomas just so happened to be in the right place at the right time.

"Ratcliffe sent Thomas to spy on your father. That gun was given to him to shot any Indians he happened to come across. That bullet was not meant for Kocoum, Alita. It was meant for me by Ratcliffe." Pocahontas said quietly.

"So Thomas didn't break the law?" Alita asked. "He was told to shot any Indian he came across and he did!"

"Right. Thomas is safe from being arrested for that reason. But because your father loved me, he couldn't shoot me, and is now paying the price for that." Pocahontas explained.

"But that's not fair! None of this is fair!"

"No, it's not." Pocahontas said and she and Alita were quiet for a minute.

"Your grandfather has invited us to stay in the village until this blows over and I think we're going to take up his offer." Pocahontas finally said.

"What?" Alita asked. How was she supposed to solve the mystery if she was in the village?

"We're going to stay at the village." Pocahontas said. "We're leaving tomorrow." She said and left. Alita could hear the pain in her voice. They were leaving John here in Jamestown. Alita looked out her window. It was pitch black outside. She had to talk to Grandmother Willow and to Naomi. She had to tell Naomi that her father was safe from being arrested. Alita opened her window and glanced behind her before climbing into the tree just outside her window. She climbed to the ground and took off running for Naomi's house. No doubt Naomi was in bed by now. Alita saw Naomi's candle lit in the window. Alita picked up a rock at threw it.

"Naomi!" She hissed into the dark. "Naomi!" Naomi appeared at her window and she opened it.

"Alita! What is it?" She asked.

"Naomi! You have to come down here! This is important!" Alita whispered and Naomi disappeared and before she knew it, she was right beside Alita.

"What is it, Alita?" Naomi asked.

"I had another vision." Alita said. "Naomi, your father is safe!"

"What? How?" Naomi asked, dumbstruck.

"Naomi, your father killed a man named Kocoum when my parents first met protecting my father." Alita said quietly.

"What? Dad would never…" Naomi started, but Alita stopped her.

"It's true, Naomi. I saw it and my mother said it was true."

"I can't believe my dad would do such a thing!" Naomi said.

"I know. I can't imagine my dad doing anything like that, either." Alita said. "Naomi, Mama and I are moving to the village."

"What?! No, you can't!" Naomi said.

"We are. It's to get us away from all this turmoil." Alita said. "I can tell it's just killing Mama."

"You know it is, Alita." Naomi said.

"You'll have to come to the village and meet my friends Retja and Leilani there and help us! We have to solve this mystery, Naomi!"

"I will, Alita. Meanwhile, I think we both need to be in bed right now." Naomi said. "Don't forget to come say goodbye!"

"I won't, Naomi. I promise." Alita said. She said good night to her best friend, then ran off in the direction of Grandmother Willow.

...oOo...

"Grandmother Willow?" Alita asked. The night air was a bit chilly and Alita knew fall was coming. Grandmother Willow's vines swayed back and forth with the wind, and the wind seemed to be telling her to stay strong.

"Alita? What are you doing here so late?" Grandmother Willow asked.

"It's Daddy, Grandmother Willow! Sheriff Laney came yesterday and arrested him! All because he did the right thing twelve years ago!" Alita said. Grandmother Willow nodded.

"I know, child. Your mother told me today about it." Grandmother Willow said.

"So this is where she came today when I got back from Naomi's." Alita said.

"That's right. Your mother has always come to me for advice and I give it freely." Grandmother Willow said with a smile. Alita couldn't return it.

"Grandmother Willow, what do I do?"

"I don't know, child."

"Grandmother Willow, for two nights now, I've been having strange dreams. But they aren't dreams. I think they're visions. Last night, I dreamed that a man I think is Ratcliffe threatened Daddy."

"I think you're right, Alita. What about the other one?"

"I just woke up from that one. It was here in the glade. A man named Kocoum attacked my father and tried to kill him before Thomas showed up and killed him. What do they mean, Grandmother Willow?" Alita asked.

"I think they're trying to tell you something, Alita. Listen carefully to your dreams. It was a dream understood that saved your father."

"What do you mean?" Alita asked, but Grandmother Willow was gone.

"_A dream understood saved your father._" Alita repeated. What did that mean? She would have to ask her mother about it. She sighed as she got up and trekked back home to Jamestown.

**A/N- Well, I think that this is going well. Please review! Wow, Alita has a lot to learn about her parents' past, doesn't she? **

**-Robin**


	8. The Compass

Chapter Seven

"_A dream understood saved your father._" Alita recited the whole way home. It was almost light out now. Alita knew that she wouldn't be getting any sleep today, but that didn't bother her. She was much to worried and confused to sleep anyway. What did Grandmother Willow mean when she said 'a dream understood saved your father'?

"Mama!" Alita called. Pocahontas looked up from book she was trying to concentrate on.

"Alita, where have you been?" Pocahontas demanded in a worried voice.

"Grandmother Willow." Alita replied simply. "Mama, before we go to the village, I have a few questions."

"Did you have another vision?" Pocahontas asked. Alita shook her head.

"No, but something Grandmother Willow said to help me just confused me."

"What did she say?" Pocahontas asked.

"_A dream understood saved your father._" Alita said.

"Oh. She means the dream I had before I met John." Pocahontas said. "For many nights before John and the others showed up here, I had a very strange dream. I had a dream that I was running and I came across and arrow. It spun faster and faster until it stopped. I didn't understand it until Father tried to kill John." Pocahontas said. She went to the desk in the corner. She pulled open a drawer. In it was a dusty compass. Pocahontas picked up the compass and took it to her daughter. She blew the years of dust from it and handed it to Alita.

"Meeko stole this from your father one day. Your father said that it helps you find your way…"

"When you get lost." Alita and Pocahontas finished together.

"Exactly. I didn't know what to do, so I went to visit Grandmother Willow. Meeko gave this to me when I said that I felt lost. The needle, the spinning arrow, spun faster and stopped. It pointed to the sunrise, to your dad." Pocahontas said. She closed Alita's hand around the compass.

"You might find that you'll need this if you ever get lost." She said. She kissed Alita's forehead and left her in the living room. Alita turned the compass around in her hand. She could see what her mother meant. The needle was shaped like a tiny arrow, and her father had always told her that the compass would show her the way home if she ever got lost. Alita had always thought of it as if she ever got lost in an unfamiliar part of the woods and ended up going in circles. But now she understood what her mother meant by "she felt lost." She didn't know what to do. Her heart was lost. She lost hope. But Alita refused to lose all hope that her father could not be helped.

"I can't lose hope. I have to keep searching. I won't let you down, Dad. I won't get lost." She promised and she slipped the compass into her belt bag.

...oOo...

"Wingapo, Father!" Pocahontas called out to her father. Alita followed quietly behind. She hoped she could solve this mystery, even when she was staying in the village. Powhatan turned.

"Wingapo, daughter, granddaughter!" He said.

"Wingapo, Grandfather." Alita said. She looked at her mother, who nodded.

"Go on. I know you need to find Retja and Leilani. I need to find Nakoma." She said. Her father nodded to the both of them and they both went to find their friends.

"Retja! Leilani!" She called, finally spotting her friends. Retja and Leilani turned to find Alita coming towards them.

"Alita! We thought your dad said you wouldn't be back for a while!" Leilani said.

"That's actually why I'm here." Alita said.

"Hold on. If you ran away, we aren't helping you." Retja said.

"I didn't run away." Alita said. "My dad was arrested."

"Oh no." Leilani said quietly.

"I know." Alita said.

"What are you going to do?" Retja asked.

"I don't know. I've been having these visions from the past lately, and I think they're trying to tell me something." Alita quickly described her visions to her friends.

"Those are definitely telling you something." Retja agreed. He looked at his sister and then at Alita. "We'll help you."

"Thank you so much! My friend Naomi from Jamestown…"

"We know about Naomi." Leilani said.

"Yeah, we've heard enough about her to know her." Retja teased playfully.

"Anyway, she's going to help us. Her dad is my dad's best friend."

"I guess we could use the extra help from the sound of things. Who do you think is doing this, Alita?"

"I don't know. But I aim to find out." Alita said. "I'll see you later. I've got to go." She said. She walked back towards her grandfather's hut. She took the compass from her bag and looked at it.

"I don't know how I'm going to not get lost, but I won't. I'm not going to get lost."

**A/N- The compass has returned! I hope it helps Alita…**

**Please review!**

**-Robin**


	9. An Urgent Message

Chapter Eight

A week passed, and Alita, Retja, and Leilani weren't able to find out anything as to who was trying to put the Virginia Company members in jail. Alita was beginning to worry about her dad – and her mother, too.

"Mama? Are you alright?" Alita asked at dinner one night.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine, Alita." Pocahontas said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Are you sure?" Alita asked.

"Positive. Why?" Pocahontas asked.

"Because you're burning dinner." Alita said with a bit of humor in her voice. Pocahontas looked down and laughed. It was true, she had burned dinner.

"We'll skip that." She said. Alita smiled. It was good to hear her mother laugh again; something she hadn't heard since her father was arrested.

"I wish something would turn up, or that I'd have another vision." Alita said.

"Have you had any more visions?" Pocahontas asked. Alita shook her head.

"No." She said.

"I guess we could use another one, couldn't we?" Pocahontas asked.

"We sure could. We haven't had a lead at all. It's almost like the person we're looking for is dead." Alita said and she went outside. Pocahontas stared at her.

"Could it…No, Pocahontas, it couldn't! Stop thinking that!" Pocahontas said to herself and turned back to dinner.

...oOo...

Alita sighed as she sat down outside her hut in the twilight. Everyone else was going in for the night. Alita swiped at a fall mosquito. It was getting colder and colder. She thought about all that was happening. She thought about her visions. What in the world did they mean? Were they trying to tell her something? More importantly, how was she getting them?

"Alita! Alita!" A frantic voice called. Alita stood up and looked towards the edge of the forest. Naomi crashed through the bushes and ran up to her. She stopped in front of her and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"Naomi! Naomi, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Dad just went to check on your dad. Alita, get to Jamestown now!" Naomi said.

"What? Naomi, what is going on?" Alita asked, growing worried.

"Alita, your dad is in trouble! Get your mother and get to Jamestown, now!" Naomi said.

"There's no time if it's this important!" Alita said. "What is it?" She asked for the fourth time.

"Just follow me!" Naomi said and she took off running for Jamestown again.

"Hold on! Let's take Retja and Leilani with us! They can help us!" Alita said. Naomi stopped and ran back.

"Alright, but hurry!" Naomi said. Alita ran to the small hut Retja and Leilani shared until Leilani's hut was built.

"Retja! Leilani!" Alita said, knocking on the side of the hut with the secret code she and Retja had created long ago.

"What is it, Alita?" Retja asked, exiting.

"Retja, this is Naomi, my best friend from Jamestown. Naomi, this is one of my village best friends, Retja."

"Hi." Naomi said, still out of breath.

"Wingapo." Retja responded.

"Leilani! Come out!" Alita called. Leilani rubbed her eyes and came out.

"What?" She asked.

"Leilani, Naomi. Naomi, Leilani." Alita said rapidly.

"What's wrong, Alita?" Leilani asked.

"I don't know! We just have to get to Jamestown!" Alita answered.

"Jamestown? That's a good run from here. Should we tell our parents?" Retja asked.

"There's no time! We have to go!" Alita answered, grabbing Retja's hand and Leilani's too. "We have to go!" She and the others took off running.

**Well, I wonder what's going on! **

**Ugh, I have to read Romeo and Juliet for English and boy is it boring. Can someone tell me when it's set? I don't think it's set in 1594 when it was written! I think it was written before and then copied. Hm…please help me! I can't understand a word they say so I'm SparkNote-ing it. I hate this book…**

**Sorry, but I had to get it out somewhere! And I kinda need to know when it was set…**

**Review!**

**-Robin **


	10. A Royal Decree and the Third Vision

Chapter Nine

Someone tapped John's shoulder and dragged him to his feet. He opened his eyes to see Sheriff Laney dragging him out of the cell and into the crisp autumn night. Stocks had been set up in the middle of the square. All of them but one was filled with men from the Virginia Company.

"What's going on?" John asked groggily.

"There's been a royal decree from the King," Sheriff Laney replied tartly, "All of those who broke Ratcliffe's law are to be severally punished at once."

John was forced into the last stock. He looked ahead to see a frightened looking Wiggins holding an official decree.

Wiggins cleared his throat. "By order of the King, on the twelfth day of October, 1619, all those of the Virginia Company that disobeyed Former-Governor Ratcliffe's law, are to be executed by gunshot. The executions are to take place one hour after the decree is announced."

Then Wiggins and Sheriff Laney left the Virginia Company members to fend for themselves for the night.

...oOo...

"They can't do that!" Alita whispered to Naomi, Retja, and Leilani.

"They can and they are." Naomi said sadly. "Alita, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Alita said as she stared at her father in the stocks. Tomorrow morning would be even worse than the chilly night. The rest of the Jamestown settlement would come out, throwing whatever old food or rocks that they pleased.

"We have to tell my mother!" Alita said in a shaking voice. Retja put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's going to be OK, Alita. Calm down." He said.

"I hope so." Alita said. "I hope so." Then she and her friends, other than Naomi, took off for the village again.

...oOo...

"Mama! Mama!" Alita screamed as she ran back into the settlement.

"Alita, what is it?" Her mother asked, coming out of her hut.

"Something terrible! Come quick!" Alita said.

"What is it, Alita?" Pocahontas asked, hearing the alarm in her daughter's voice.

"It's Daddy! Hurry!"

"What? Alita, what is going on?" Pocahontas asked, putting her hands on Alita's shoulders.

"You just have to hurry!" Leilani spoke up, seeing how scared and out of breath Alita was. "John is in serious trouble!"

"Retja, Leilani, get back to your hut. Your parents are sure to be looking for you." Pocahontas said. Retja and Leilani nodded, and ran off.

"Come on, Alita, show me what's wrong!" Alita nodded and ran towards Jamestown.

...oOo...

Meanwhile, the men of the Virginia Company were growing angry towards John.

"This is all your fault, Smith! If you had just shot that savage like Ratcliffe told you, we wouldn't be in this mess!" One said. John's anger was flaring.

"Don't you dare talk about Pocahontas like that!" John snapped.

"Shut up, Smith. This is your fault and you know it."

"Look, if Ratcliffe told you to shoot the person you love, would you do it?" John asked. The men were quiet. "I thought not."

"That doesn't matter, John, and you know it! If you had just left everything alone when Ratcliffe told you of the battle, it would all be fine!"

John began to think. They just didn't understand.

_You would think that they would after all Pocahontas and I have been through! _He thought.

"If anyone deserves to be killed it's you." Another said in a rough voice. John thought about it. It was true, absolutely true. All of his former crewmates and friends now hated him. He had dragged them into this, and now they were all going to die for it.

John had finally found a scrape he couldn't possibly get out of.

...oOo...

"What is going on?" Pocahontas asked.

"They've put them in the stocks until later when they kill them by gunshot!" Alita said.

"No! No, they can't do that!" Pocahontas nearly screamed.

"Mama, they can! The king summoned it!" Alita said. Pocahontas looked worried. She took a step towards John, but Alita put a hand on her mother's arm to stop her.

"No, Mama! Don't!" Alita said.

"Alita, we can't just leave him there all day!" Pocahontas said. "Who knows what they'll do to him!"

"Mama, I know what they'll do to him! But we can't go up there! Daddy would just tell us to come back to the village anyway!" Alita said. Pocahontas knew she was right. She looked back at John, then turned back towards the village with her daughter.

...oOo...

"_Fine! I'll settle this myself!" Ratcliffe said as he grabbed a gun from someone. He aimed at Powhatan. John saw his only chance a split second before Ratcliffe fired. Jumping in front of Powhatan, he fell to the ground._

"Dad, look out!" Alita screamed as she sat up in bed. She looked around her, breathing heavily, as if she had been racing against a raging storm. Alita was shaking by then and she didn't know what to do. What did this vision mean?

One thing that made Alita feel like she was on her way towards solving the mystery was that she knew who had shot her father. Ratcliffe.

"If he wasn't dead, I'd kill him." Alita said. Then something she'd said earlier came back to her.

_It's as if the person we're looking for is dead…_

"But he's dead. He has been for twelve years." Alita said to herself again. Something inside her said to get her mother and go to Jamestown, but she didn't know what. She climbed out of bed and ran to her mother's hut.

"Mama!" She called. Pocahontas appeared a few moments later, half asleep.

"Alita?" She asked.

"Mama, I had another vision." Alita said.

"What was it?" Pocahontas asked, now fully awake.

"I saw who shot Daddy. It was Ratcliffe, wasn't it?" Pocahontas closed her eyes and remembered the horrible man that had tried so many times to take John from her.

"Yes. Ratcliffe was the one who shot your father." She said.

"Mama, something inside is telling me to go check on Daddy, and I think we should listen to the feeling." Alita said.

"Then let's go." Pocahontas said. She had had the same feeling all night. She and Alita ran back towards Jamestown.

_Mother, please, help us get through this._ She silently prayed. She could only hope, for her and Alita's sake, that everything would be fine.

**A/N- ¡Hola, mi amigos! **

**I hope you're enjoying this story. I know I am! **

**Thanks, _again_, Sophie! I don't know what it is about Writer's Block and the month of January, but I'm not liking it! See you later!**

**REVIEW!**

**-Robin **


	11. An Enemy Returns

Chapter Ten

Alita and her mother ran halfway to Jamestown, then they slowed into a walk.

"Alita, why do you think we need to get to Jamestown?" Pocahontas asked.

"I don't know." Alita answered. "Something is just telling me to get here as fast as I could."

They arrived at the stocks. Alita gasped when she saw a large, fat profile walking towards them. Pocahontas went rigid at the sight, not able to move or scream.

Alita gulped when he shot them an evil grin, glowing in the moonlight. His eyes looked of murder, and his face had seen many hard years.

"Ratcliffe," Pocahontas whispered finally, her lungs breathless, "You're supposed to be dead."

"And if I had it my way, savage, you would have been dead long ago!" He kept walking forward, slow step by slow step.

Something was in his right hand. Alita squinted as they stood motionless. Finally, he came fully out of the shadows and she saw what it was.

"Mama, look out!" Alita yelled as she shoved Pocahontas to the ground. Ratcliffe had raised the musket to his shoulder, aiming straight at Pocahontas.

"No!" Alita said as she tried to grab the gun from Ratcliffe.

"Isn't this sweet? Smith and the savage had a little savage." Ratcliffe sneered.

"That's right! And you're not going to get away with this!" Alita screamed.

"Alita, no!" Pocahontas said. She scrambled to her feet and tried to get Alita away from Ratcliffe. But Ratcliffe was surprisingly faster. He grabbed Alita and said to Pocahontas,

"I told you I'd get the both of you! And now that I have your precious daughter, I can finally get my revenge." He said.

"No!" Pocahontas screamed. She tried to get her daughter away from Ratcliffe, but Ratcliffe whirled around and knocked her out with the butt of his gun.

"Mama!" Alita wailed. She looked back at her father and the others, but her father seemed to be knocked out, too. "Daddy!" She called, but her father didn't hear her.

"Shut up you!" Ratcliffe said. Alita glared at him.

"You! You're the one that shot my father!" She said.

"He was never supposed to survive." Ratcliffe grumbled. "But he found a way. And now he'll pay."

"You leave my father alone!" Alita said. She was scared, but she couldn't show Ratcliffe that. She had to show him that she was John Smith's daughter and she wasn't going without a fight. She kicked and punched, but Ratcliffe wouldn't let her go.

Ratcliffe finally reached a small shack in the woods. He opened the door and shoved Alita in.

"I hope you've enjoyed your freedom and your parents, because you'll never see either again!" He said and slammed the door. Alita jabbed her shoulder against the door. It was no use. The shack had one tiny window.

"Let me out!" She screamed. It was no use. Ratcliffe was gone. Alita leaned back against the wall of the shack. All she could think about was her mother and her father. Her father's execution date was drawing frighteningly close. What was she going to do?

"So this is what Daddy feels like." Alita said to herself. She looked out at the moon of the chilly September night. She thought of her mother, unconscious from Ratcliffe's blow, and her father in the horrible stocks. Alita's eyes filled with tears. She took the compass from her bag and looked at it in the moonlight.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." She whispered. "I'm lost."

Alita, the compass clutched tightly in her fist, cried herself to sleep.

**A/N- Poor Alita! Ha! Did you guys catch on when I said _It's almost like the person we're looking for is dead?_ Well, Ratcliffe isn't dead, as you can see. **

**Thanks, yet AGAIN, to Sophie! I really don't know what's wrong, honest. January has not been nice to my brain.**

**Review please!**

**-Robin**


	12. Lost

Chapter Eleven

John groaned as he blinked awake. Why did his head hurt so badly? He looked up to see the townspeople of Jamestown gathered around the stocks. He looked to his side at his former friends and fellow Virginia Company members, but they were gone. Now, they stood in the crowd. Sheriff Laney nodded to the crowd and they began to throw food scraps and even rocks. John bit his bottom lip at the pain and prayed Pocahontas and Alita were back at the village. He saw Thomas and Naomi looking out at him with sad expressions on their faces. John endured the angry Jamestown townspeople's food and rocks. One person threw a piece of glass. It hit John alongside the face and he gritted his teeth as he felt the blood run down his face. Finally, the tirade was over. Sheriff Laney unlocked the stocks and yanked him away roughly. John's legs had gone to sleep and he could barely walk.

"Thomas would like a word with you before you have to go back to your cell." He said, sounding annoyed at having to let the prisoner speak to anyone. He shoved John into Thomas's house.

"John! Are you alright?" Thomas asked.

"Aside from the fact that my legs went to sleep and I had rocks and glass thrown at me and I have a splitting headache, I'm fine." John assured him. "What's wrong?"

"Look in there." Naomi said, pointing to the spare bedroom. John looked at Thomas and Naomi and walked into the room.

"John!" Pocahontas sobbed as she ran into his arms.

"Pocahontas, what's wrong?" John asked.

"He's back, John, he's back. And he's got Alita!"

"Who, Pocahontas? Who has Alita?" John asked. Pocahontas looked at him.

"Ratcliffe."

"What? Ratcliffe is dead!" John protested.

"He's not, John. Alita had another vision and…"

"Vision?" John asked.

"Our daughter has been having visions since you were arrested. She's been having visions of our past. And last night's was of you getting shot. She said something was telling her to get here and we saw Ratcliffe near the stocks where you were. He tried to shoot me but Alita stopped him." Pocahontas explained. "She certainly is your daughter."

"That's for sure." John agreed and tried to smile, but the cut on his face stopped him.

"What happened to your face?" Pocahontas asked, gently reaching out to touch the gash on his cheek.

"Someone threw glass." John said.

"And a couple of other things." Pocahontas commented, pulling a strand of lettuce from his hair.

"And a couple of other things." John agreed.

"Oh John, what are we going to do?" Pocahontas asked. She once again collapsed in John's arms, hugging him close to her. John had lost a lot of weight in the jailhouse, and Pocahontas didn't know when she would ever see him again.

"I don't know, Pocahontas. But when I get my hands on Ratcliffe…"

"John, don't do anything rational. You're in enough trouble." Pocahontas pleaded.

"I won't, but he's going to tell us where our daughter is." John assured her. _But if he hurts her, I swear I'll kill him._

"Time to go, John." Thomas said, poking his head into the room with Naomi, face red from crying for her best friend, not far behind. John turned back to Pocahontas.

"I'll prove them wrong. I'll get out somehow and I'll find our daughter and bring her back safe." He promised.

"Just be careful." Pocahontas said. "I can't lose you and Alita both."

"I will. Meanwhile, get some rest. I'm sure that wherever Alita is, she's safe." Pocahontas nodded and kissed him.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." John said. He turned and followed Sheriff Laney from the house.

...oOo...

Alita awoke cold and hungry. Where was she? This most certainly wasn't her hut in the village! She sat up. Then she remembered; Ratcliffe wasn't dead. Her mother was unconscious in Jamestown, her father in the stocks, her friends having no way of knowing where she was. She thought of Naomi, Retja, and Leilani. They had to be worried about her. She looked down at her hand to reveal the compass. Alita curled her fingers around it again and put it in her bag.

"I'm lost, Daddy." She said. "This can't help me."

...oOo...

Naomi's feet pounded the earth as she ran for the village.

"Retja! Leilani!" She called when she reached the center of the village. No one answered her.

"Naomi?" Naomi turned to find Leilani.

"Leilani!" Naomi said in relief, happy to see a familiar face. "Hurry and find your brother! Alita's been kidnapped by John's old enemy and we have to find her!"

"What?" Leilani demanded. "What do you mean, kidnapped?"

"She was kidnapped by the person who tired to kill her father! The one who tried to kill her grandfather! The one that's been targeting the Virginia Company members!" Naomi said in a rush. Her best friend was out there somewhere and she was going to need some help if she was going to find her.

"I'll be right back!" Leilani said. She ran off and came back with her brother.

"How do you know Ratcliffe kidnapped her?" Retja asked as he, Leilani and Naomi quickly ran from the village.

"My dad and I found Pocahontas unconscious this morning. Ratcliffe knocked her out and kidnapped Alita!" Naomi said.

"Do you know where he might have taken Alita?"

"I don't know!" Naomi said. "But she's my best friend and I have to find her!"

"She's our best friend, too, and we will!" Retja assured her.

"But we have to get to Jamestown first!" Leilani added. The three kids ran on in hopes of finding anything that might lead them to their best friend.

**A/N- Now it's up to Naomi, Retja, and Leilani to find Alita! Ratcliffe will pay!**

**Review please!**

**-Robin**


	13. Alsy

Chapter Twelve

"Alita. Alita, wake up." A gentle voice commanded. Alita yawned at sat up. That voice…Where had she heard it? She knew she had heard it somewhere, but never face to face. In fact, the only time Alita could remember hearing it was when the wind blew…

"Who are you?" Alita asked.

"Turn around, Alita." Alita did to find a girl about her age standing behind her.

"Who are you? How did you get here?"

"That's not important, Alita. My name's Alsy." The girl said.

"You know me, but I'm afraid I don't know you."

"That's alright. I live in the village." Alsy said.

"Can you help me get out of here? My dad is in terrible danger!"

"I know. And yes, I'll help you. Listen." Alsy said. Alita cocked her head.

"Alita!" She could faintly hear the voices of her best friends calling her.

"I'm in here!" She called.

"Come on, they'll hear you better outside." Alsy said and Alita nodded. She followed Alsy outside through a hole that she knew had not been there the night before.

"Alita! Alita, where are you?" Naomi called.

"Over here! Naomi, Retja, Leilani! Over here!" Alita called. Retja turned around to see Alita standing beside a tree.

"Alita! Naomi, Leilani, it's Alita!" He called.

"Alita!" Naomi reached her first.

"Naomi!" Alita said, hugging her friend hard. "Is my mother alright? And my dad?"

"Your mother's fine. Dad and I found her earlier two days ago and your father was fine, aside from the fact that someone threw glass when he was in the stocks and cut his face."

"Who threw it?"

"I don't know." Naomi said.

"Alita!" Retja and Leilani said at the same time as they ran up to her.

"Leilani! Retja!" Alita said.

"We were so worried about you!" Leilani said.

"I didn't know if I was ever getting out of that stuffy shack!" Alita said. "Alsy helped me escape."

"Wingapo." Alsy said.

"I don't think we've ever met you before." Leilani said. This took Alita back a few steps. Leilani and Retja lived in the village – and not just on the weekends, they lived there all the time. And they had never met Alsy. Something wasn't making sense. Like how she knew she had heard her voice before, but whenever she had, it had seemed older and not as young. And she only heard it when the wind blew…that was the thing that confused her the most.

"We'd better get back. Your mother is worried sick!" Naomi said.

"Then let's go. Hey, Alsy, want to join us? Hey, where'd she go?" Retja asked. Alita looked over her shoulder. Alsy was gone.

"Thanks, Alsy!" She called, hoping Alsy could hear her. Then she took off running after Retja, Naomi, and Leilani for Jamestown.

...oOo...

"Mama!" Alita called as she ran into Jamestown. Pocahontas looked up. Could it be…?

"Alita?" She said, standing in the doorway. She saw her daughter running down the path with Retja, Leilani, and Naomi close behind. Alita's friends had found her.

Before Alita knew it, she was in her mother's arms.

"Alita, I thought I'd lost you!" Pocahontas cried, hugging her daughter close to her.

"Mama, are you alright?" Alita asked, concerned by the blow Ratcliffe had given her mother two days before.

"I'm fine, Alita. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Alita said. "Alsy helped me out of the shack and then Retja, Leilani, and Naomi found me!"

"Alsy?" Alita nodded.

"I don't know who she was, but she said she was from the village."

"But we've never met her." Retja added, glancing at Leilani.

"I see." Pocahontas said. "I'm just glad you're safe. I couldn't bear to lose you and your father."

"There's still time, Mama! We can still save Daddy!" Alita said.

"I don't know, Alita. I saw him today after the stocks. With Ratcliffe back…" She trailed off.

"I know. But Mama, I can do this! Please believe me! I can do this!"

"I know you can." Pocahontas agreed. "I know you can."

...oOo...

That night, Pocahontas couldn't sleep. She couldn't get the name of the girl that had helped her daughter escape from her mind.

"Alsy." She said. The name was familiar somehow, like she had heard it from somewhere, sometime long ago. But where?

Suddenly, Pocahontas sat up in bed. She knew who Alsy was. And she knew now how Alita had been getting visions.

**Who is Alsy? Hm... review please!**

**-Robin**


	14. Alsoomse's Return

Chapter Thirteen

The morning breeze blew back her hair as Pocahontas sat at the burial mound. In her hand she held some flowers, gently setting them down onto the grave. Voices whispered in her ear as she did, letting her know that she was there.

"Mother," Pocahontas whispered, "What are you warning Alita about? What is going to happen to us?"

A quiet laughter filled the air around her. Leaves stirred from the ground and fluttered in the gentle wind, making a small cyclone.

She appeared, a bit older in appearance, on top of the mound. "So you figured out who 'Alsy' was, my daughter," Alsoomse spoke gently. Her voice had a slight laugh of amusement to it.

Pocahontas bowed her head, "Yes, I did, Mother."

"I am warning Alita that Ratcliffe is the one to blame for John's imprisonment. And that Ratcliffe is dangerous and that if she does not stop him, her father will be lost to world of the dead forever." Alsoomse said. Pocahontas drew in a sharp breath.

"Does that mean John is going to die, Mother?" She asked.

"I can't tell you that, Pocahontas." Alsoomse said. "I am trying my hardest to show Alita the way to go, but only Alita herself can find a way to save John."

"But how, Mother? How can Alita do this on her own?" Pocahontas asked.

"Alita is a smart girl for nine. She knows that she has to do what you did once: follow her heart. Only that will save John, as it did all those years ago." Alsoomse said.

"What will happen if Alita fails, Mother? What will happen to us?"

"Pocahontas, I think you know the answer to that question." Pocahontas did know the answer to her question. She knew all too well. And she could just envision it.

"We'll be ripped apart." She said quietly.

"Yes. Pocahontas, Alita will not stop getting visions. I will show her clues as to what could help her of your past. All I can say is, my daughter, help her. Hard times are coming."

"What do you mean?" Pocahontas asked.

"Stay strong, my daughter, and don't give up." With that, Alsoomse faded into a whirlwind of gold and scarlet leaves.

...oOo...

"Alita." Pocahontas said that night as she entered her daughter's hut. Alita looked up from the journal her father had given her for her ninth birthday.

"Mama? What is it?" Alita asked.

"Alita, there's something you need to know about Alsy." Pocahontas said, sitting down next to Alita. Alita looked confused.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Alita, Alsy stands for Alsoomse." Pocahontas said. "Alsoomse was your grandmother. My mother."

"You mean Grandmother came to me to help me escape?" Alita asked.

"Yes, Alita. She spoke to me today. There's something you must know."

"What is it?"

"Alita, only you can save your father. My mother has been giving you the visions to give you clues as to how to solve the mystery and save your father. You must follow your heart, and not give up."

"I'm not going to get lost, Mama. I know I'm not." Alita said with confidence in her voice.

"I hope you're right, Alita. Your grandmother warned me that if you failed, Alita, that if you do not follow your heart, your father will join the land of the dead forever."

"But he can't! I'm not going to let him! We need him, Mama, and I'm going to prove them wrong and put Ratcliffe behind bars!" Alita protested against what her mother had said. "I won't let a gun take his life like it almost did all those years ago!"

"Alita, just be careful. I can't lose you. Not you and John both."

"You won't! Naomi, Retja and Leilani are helping me! I won't be alone!"

"I'm serious, Alita. Be careful. Promise?"

"I promise." Alita whispered.

...oOo...

Meanwhile, a snarl caused John to nearly jump out of his skin. He turned towards the window and his eyes widened. There, in the window, was his arch enemy, Ratcliffe. The sole man he hated.

"Ratcliffe. What do you want?" John asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I already have what I want, Smith. You behind bars and your precious daughter." Ratcliffe said with an evil grin. That was more than John could take. He had no way of knowing his daughter was safe in her hut in the village thanks to Alsoomse, Retja, Leilani, and Naomi. For all he knew, his daughter was still missing. John walked over to the window and grabbed Ratcliffe by the neck of his shirt.

"Where is my daughter, Ratcliffe?" He demanded. "Where have you taken Alita?"

"Ha! I wouldn't tell you!" Ratcliffe said. John, who hadn't changed much over the course of twelve years, revealed his knife from his boot.

"Tell me where my daughter is. _Now._ You don't want to mess with me, Ratcliffe. Now tell me, where is Alita?"

"You don't scare me, Smith. Your knife does not scare me. It never has and it never will." Ratcliffe said.

"I swear, Ratcliffe, if you don't leave Pocahontas and Alita alone, I swear I'll kill you. And I know how to make it look like an accident." John threatened and Ratcliffe could see the seriousness in John's eyes. But he saw something, else, too. Something that Ratcliffe had been trying to get out of John. Fear. John was scared for his family – for Pocahontas, and for Alita.

"Honestly, Smith, I never expected you to fall in love with a savage when I first came here." John released Ratcliffe and pushed him back from the window.

"Some people change." He said as he replaced his knife. "But people like you don't. When I get out of here, Ratcliffe, you'd better watch your back." John said, repeating a threat Ratcliffe had given him years ago. _You'd better watch your back._

"Ah, but you won't get out of here, Smith, and that's something you can bet on. I'll be there when they fire that gun. And I'll be sure it isn't quick either." Ratcliffe said. John froze. He knew all too well what Ratcliffe meant. He meant that John would feel the pain of the gunshot before he died.

"Remember what I said, Smith." Ratcliffe said. He began to walk away. John went to the window and watched him walk off with lightning in his eyes.

"And you remember what I said, Ratcliffe. So help me, I will be sure you pay for this."

**A/N- I mean seriously, January has not left me. Thanks, Soph! See you tomorrow! Can't wait!**

**Ratcliffe doesn't give up, does he? I don't think so. Yes, in case you're wondering, I am making references to mine and Sophie's combined account story _The Heart of the Wind._**

**Please review! I really love reviews! **

**-Robin**


	15. Retja's Idea

Chapter Fourteen

"How am I going to get him out?" Alita wondered out loud. Naomi, Retja, and Leilani sat next to her outside her Jamestown house. Alita had decided that if she were to free her father, it might help to be in the same town as him.

Something clicked in Retja's mind, "Ratcliffe was arrested, right?" His sister and friends nodded, not quite sure where he was going with this. "Well, the reason he was arrested shows that he would have started war over riches. Lives would have been lost on both sides. Maybe-"

"If we show that what my father did was to protect Jamestown, which would be protecting England's interests, then maybe we can get him pardoned by the state! Retja, you're a genius!" Alita said, finishing his thought.

"Thanks." Retja said.

"But Alita, you're forgetting something. Something that might help. You're father was taken captive and almost killed!" Naomi said. "Because Ratcliffe ordered every Indian that was seen in the forest killed."

"You're right. But I don't know what to do." Alita said. "I haven't even seen or talked to him since he was arrested three weeks ago." Alita said. She had never in her nine years gone so long without seeing her father and she missed him very much.

"Maybe you could start there." Leilani said.

"I guess." Alita agreed. She got up. "I'll be right back." She ran to the jailhouse, a place she had never been. She gulped as she turned the handle and walked in.

The jailhouse was musty, damp, and smelled of mold. There was one torch and a candle where Sheriff Laney sat, writing on a piece of parchment.

"Excuse me, Sheriff Laney?" Alita asked. Sheriff Laney looked up. "Can I speak with you a minute about a prisoner?"

"Who are you?" Sheriff Laney said.

"Alita Smith." Alita replied.

"You again? What do you want this time?" Sheriff Laney asked, remembering the stubborn daughter of John, the one he had arrested three weeks before on charges against the king.

"It's me again. And I want answers, Mr. Laney." Alita said.

"Well, you won't be getting them here. Go away!" Sheriff Laney said. Alita clentched her fists.

"Why is my father being held here?" Alita asked, though she knew the answer to the question.

"Because the king ordered it, which means that the governor has to comply." Sheriff Laney said. "Now get out of here." Alita turned.

_The governor! Perfect! Thank you, Sheriff Laney!_ Alita thought. She ran back to her friends.

"I have to speak to Governor Dawson." Alita said. "And I have to speak to him soon. Eric is a good friend of my dad's, and he visited often. I'm sure I can speak to him!"

"Then go!" Naomi urged. "I have to be getting home anyway. Dad is such a worrywart lately." It was true. Ever since the Virginia Company members had begun to get arrested, Thomas had been a regular worrywart about everything. He had no way of knowing that because he killed Kocoum all those years ago, he was impervious to being prosecuted.

"And we have to get back to help Mother pick corn." Retja said. Nakoma would be worried if they didn't come back soon.

"Thanks, guys. See you later." Alita said. Then she turned and headed for Eric Dawson's house.

**A/N- So it's a little short. Anyway, in case you guys are wondering, I am making references to UPG's Eric Dawson. But this has no ties other than that to UPG. It's like UPG never happened.**

**By the way, Eric Dawson is Eric Wills from my story _The Kid Adventure Chronicles: John._ Eric was adopted and became Eric Dawson. Get it? Good.**

**PLEASE review?**

**-Robi**


	16. The Fourth Vision and Almost a Jailbreak

Chapter Fifteen

"Eric?" Alita asked as she knocked on the door. "It's me, Alita!"

"Alita?" Eric called from inside. He came out into the chilly September day.

"Good morning, Eric." Alita said. Eric was a good friend of her father's.

"What's wrong, Alita?"

"It's my dad." Alita said. Eric sighed.

"Alita, there's nothing I can do-" Eric started, but Alita cut him off.

"My dad did nothing wrong! Failing to shoot any Indian in the forest was in Jamestown's best interest! If he had shot any Indian in the forest, Jamestown and my mother's people surely would have gone to war! And the men of Jamestown wouldn't stand a chance against them!" Alita said. Eric thought a minute. Alita did have a good point. What John did _had_ been in the best interest of Jamestown! Not to mention, shooting _any_ Indian would mean shooting Pocahontas, something Eric knew John would never had been able to do, even if his life depended on it, which, in truth thanks to Ratcliffe's threat, did.

"I know, Alita. But you have no evidence as to the fact that what Ratcliffe wanted was war. Ratcliffe is dead, so there's no way to prove it without his confession."

"But Ratcliffe _isn't_ dead, Eric! He's alive, and he's here, in Jamestown! If not in Jamestown, then somewhere near it! I should know! Three days ago, I was kidnapped by him! Ask my father, I'm sure he's seen him! And my mother was knocked out with the butt of Ratcliffe's gun! They can tell you!" Alita protested.

"Alita, there's no way I can speak to your father. The king's decree said that no one may speak to the prisoners." Eric said. Alita's heart fell.

"There has to be something we can do!" Alita said. Eric shook his head.

"There's not."

…oOo…

"There's got to be something we can do," Leilani said to her brother as they walked home from Jamestown. He nodded.

"What if we break him out?" Retja offered. His sister glared at him and cuffed the back of his head. He winced but kept a steady gaze.

"Are you nuts!? It would mean more trouble for John and Alita, not to mention more trouble for ourselves!" Leilani spat the words at her brother, outraged.

Retja shrugged. "Not necessarily," his sister shot him an odd look, "We, being from a tribe that is not connected to Jamestown legally, would not be under their laws. If we break John out, there is almost nothing that they can do about it."

"_Almost_ nothing," Leilani put in, "A war could be started over this! We could be shot, or worse, they could tell Powhatan about it! We would be skinned alive if he found out about it!"

Retja stopped and gave his sister a look. "It comes down to this. Would you rather be flayed alive by our elders or have a best friend who is suffering because her father is going to die? I'd rather be flayed, personally, then stand by when one of my friends is in need."

"I know, I know," Leilani put her hands up in defense; "We just need to figure out a way to do it without being caught.

"Leave that to me," Retja said with a grin. He turned around and began to walk off in the opposite direction, back towards Jamestown.

…oOo…

It was pitch dark as they snuck to the side of the Jailhouse. Luckily for them, when the building had been built, there had been little stone. The settlers had been forced to construct the building out of wood.

In one hand, Leilani held a stick, the tip on fire and her hand shading it from the night. Retja carried a bowl of water and an old cloth.

"Ok," Retja whispered to his sister, "I'll make a circle on the wood in water large enough for John to climb out of. You light the center of the circle on fire; the water should slow down the burning long enough to let us put it out once the hole is made. People around here will probably see the flames, so we won't have much time."

"Got it," Leilani whispered. Retja turned to the wall and began to make the circle with the wet rag. Once he was done, he signaled with his had to his sister. Nothing behind him moved. "Leilani," he whispered as he turned around.

She was being held in the air by a large man in purple clothes. His other hand was covering her mouth, not letting her scream. The stick was laying on the ground, the fire put out.

"Planning something, savages?" Ratcliffe asked with a cruel smile on his face.

"Who are you?" Retja snapped. "And you leave my sister alone!"

"I think you know who I am." Ratcliffe sneered.

"You're Ratcliffe, aren't you?" Retja asked.

"I am. And I don't know what you think you're doing, savage, but make one more move and you'll never see your sister again!"

"Put her down!" Retja said. "Or else!"

"Oh, and what are you going to do?" Retja was quiet. Just as he was about to open his mouth, a gag came over his mouth and someone tied him up. Retja fell to the ground and let out a small groan of pain.

"Sorry." Wiggins muttered.

"Wiggins, you take the little one." Ratcliffe said, finishing tying a gag around Leilani's mouth. "I've got the loud one." Wiggins forced Leilani to walk. Retja fought and kicked, but Ratcliffe was stronger than he was. Finally, Ratcliffe reached the shack. He and Wiggins had found the hole Alsoomse had made and fixed it. He threw the siblings into the shack and locked it.

"That'll teach them! I'd like to see them get out of that!" He said.

"Aye, sir." Wiggins agreed.

...oOo...

"_Alita." Alita blinked. Who was that? _

"_Hello?" Alita called. She looked down and gasped. She was hovering above her own body, which was sound asleep in her bed in Jamestown. She whirled around when she felt a hand on her shoulder. _

"_Alita." The voice said. Alita looked up into the face of an older Alsy._

"_Alsy?" She asked._

"_Alita. It's good to see you again." Alsoomse said._

"_You look older." Alita commented._

"_That's because I am. My name is Alsoomse, but I went by Alsy when I was younger. Alita, I am your grandmother." Alita gasped. This was Powhatan's beloved Alsoomse! This was her grandmother! _

"_Alsoomse?" She asked. Her grandmother nodded. Alita couldn't help herself. She hugged her grandmother._

"_It's good to finally meet you, Alita. I have been watching over you since the day you were born." Alsoomse said._

"_Grandfather and Mama miss you." Alita said._

"_I know they do." Alsoomse said. "And I miss them. Alita, come. There is something you must see." Alita walked through the forest with Alsoomse, taking in her surroundings. Then she saw the shack where Ratcliffe had kept her locked up for two days._

"_Grandmother, what are we doing here?" Alita asked._

"_Look." Alsoomse said. She and Alita walked right into the shack. Alita gasped when she saw in the light of the crescent moon Retja and Leilani, bound and gagged._

"_Retja, Leilani!" She said. _

"_They can't hear you, Alita." Alsoomse said. "You're dreaming."_

"_Who did this?" Alita asked. _

"_Ratcliffe. They were trying to break your father out of jail, Alita. You have to come and help them." _

"_Thank you, Alsoomse!" Alita said. _

"_You're most welcome. Follow the compass back here. I will lead you here." Alsoomse said. Alita nodded. Before she knew it, she was back at home, sitting up in bed._

Alita threw the covers off of her and ran down the stairs. Without even bothering to wake her mother, she ran from the house, the compass clutched in her fist. Ever since she had been captured by Ratcliffe, she had slept with it under her pillow. She had reached under it and got it before she ran from the house. She stopped and waited for a gentle breeze to show here which way to go. Finally, the needle began to spin, as did the wind around her, causing her loose blonde hair to be whirled into her face. The needle stopped and pointed east, where Alita took off running. She looked at the compass again and it pointed north. Then it turned to the northwest.

The shack came into view. The scarlet and gold leaves of Alsoomse appeared and swirled in a whirlwind, revealing Alsoomse in her Alsy form.

"Here!" She said, pressing a key into Alita's palm. "Good luck, Alita."

"Thank you, Alsy." She said. Alsy smiled and disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves. Alita picked the lock open and threw open the door.

Leilani looked up and in the pale moonlight, Alita could see she was scared. Retja was fast asleep, most likely from exhaustion from fighting the ropes that kept him prisoner.

"Alita!" Leilani's muffled cry said. It sounded more like "A-we-ta" than "Alita."

"Sh!" Alita said. She pulled her knife from her pocket that her father had given her when she was seven, against the wishes of her grandfather. "I'll have you out of here in no time!" She cut the ropes and Leilani jabbed her foot into her brother's side.

"Retja!" She said, the gag finally gone. "Wake up!" Alita set to work on the ropes on Retja.

"Alita! I thought we'd never get out of here!" Retja said, relief in his voice. Alita had never known Retja to be scared.

"You scared, Retja?" She teased.

"No!" Retja snapped. There was no way he was admitting that he _had_ been a little scared.

"Let's get out of here!" Leilani whispered. Alita nodded and she and her friends ran off into the night.

**A/N- They almost had him out! Stupid Ratcliffe!**

**Thanks again, Soph!**

**Review, please!**

**-Robi**


	17. Hard Times Have Come

Chapter Sixteen

"What happened?" Alita asked.

"We were trying to break your father out!" Retja said. "But Ratcliffe stopped us!"

"Then he brought us there!" Leilani put in. "Boy, just wait til I get my hands on him!"

"I don't know what we're going to do, guys!" Alita said as they ran back into Jamestown.

"I don't either. And how did you find us?" Retja asked.

"My Grandmother came to me in a vision and showed me." Alita answered.

"Alsoomse came to you?" Leilani asked. Alita nodded.

"Do you remember Alsy?"

"Yeah, what about her?" Retja asked.

"Alsy is my grandmother. In her younger form." Alita explained.

"That would explain why we never had met before!" Retja said.

"Exactly." Alita said.

"We're sorry, Alita. We were trying to break John out." Leilani sighed.

"Thanks for trying, guys. But I'm beginning to think that there really is nothing we can do. Daddy's execution date is in about a week. Oh guys, what am I going to do?"

"You can't give up now!" Leilani told her friend, "Your father, mother, and the whole village are counting on you to save John!"

"And you have us and Naomi to help," Retja added in.

Tears pricked at Alita's eyes; her friends were lifesavers, but she couldn't think of anything to do. "But how are we going to save him?"

"What we need is a plan," Leilani said, looking from Alita to her brother.

Retja looked at both of them, a gleam in his eyes. "Ratcliffe," was all he said.

Leilani and Alita caught on. "He's still alive," Alita put in, "If we can reveal him to the people of Jamestown and get him to confess to wanting war…"

"Which he has done how many times before?" Leilani put in, "It won't be that hard to get him to do it again."

"But how will we get him to reveal himself?" Retja asked.

"We'll build a trap, lure him out of hiding!" Leilani said excitedly.

"We'd better start planning then," Alita said as they began to walk towards Naomi's house, "And we'd better tell Naomi about it; she'll want to help."

...oOo...

"Pocahontas! Thank goodness!" Was all Nakoma could say when Alita, Retja, Leilani, and Pocahontas walked into the village that day.

"What is it?" Pocahontas asked, hearing the alarm in her best friend's voice.

"It's your father." Nakoma said in a whisper. "I'd go see him if I were you." Pocahontas looked worried, and Alita didn't know what was going on, but she hung back and let her mother run to her grandfather's side.

"What's wrong, Nakoma?" Alita asked. Nakoma shook her head.

"Your mother will tell you." She said. Alita nodded. She, Retja, and Leilani sat down.

"So the plan is set?" Alita asked.

"Sure is!" Leilani said.

"Good. Tonight, I'll sneak out and it'll go into effect." Alita said.

"Alita." Someone said. Alita turned to find her mother, a sad expression on her face.

"Mama? What is it? Is it Daddy?" Alita asked. Ever since John had been arrested, every time her mother called for her, Alita was scared she had news of her father – bad news. Pocahontas shook her head. She motioned for Alita to follow her and she did, leaving Retja and Leilani behind.

"What is it, Mama?" Alita asked. Pocahontas's eyes filled with tears. How was she going to tell her? Pocahontas put her hands on Alita's shoulders.

"Alita, your grandfather is dead."

**A/N- Don't hate me, guys! In the second chapter, I said that Powhatan was getting old and couldn't do much anymore. This was what it would lead up to. I never intended to kill off Powhatan until this story came around, so yeah. **

**Oh, and any stories that come after this is finished, pretend as if this never happened. I like to jump around, OK? But I have to say, this one on my top five list of my faves of writing, this is ¡numero dos! UPG is ¡numero uno! ¡Adios!**

**¡Review, por favor!**

**-Robin**


	18. The Showdown

Chapter Seventeen

Alita looked at her mother with shock, not able to say a word. The man she had known all her life and had admired was dead. She felt tears run down her cheeks but did not brush them away; she just stood there, silent in grief.

Pocahontas pulled her daughter into a hug, stroking her hair for both of their comfort. For a moment, they stood there, sharing each other's feelings.

"What will happen now?" Alita asked her mother.

Pocahontas shook her head, "I don't know. We need a new leader, and John and I were not going to take it. This place will always be home, but Jamestown is where we live now. The Tribe will have to elect a new leader after the…" she trailed off as a new wave of tears fell from their eyes.

"First Daddy gets arrested and now Grandfather's gone!" Alita sobbed.

"I know." Pocahontas said. "I know."

"Mama, you have to be the new leader!" Alita said. Pocahontas looked doubtful.

"I know that they'll let me run it, but I'm not so sure they'll let John. Just because he saved my father's life and is my husband doesn't mean they'll…"

"They have to! You were the only child of Grandfather and Alsoomse! You have to take it! Grandfather would want you to!" Alita protested. Pocahontas nodded.

"I know. And I've always missed living here, even if I have lived in Jamestown for ten years."

"So you'll be the new leader?" Alita asked.

"I'll have to…" Pocahontas started, but then she remembered that John was in the jailhouse, and she also knew that there was a slim chance that Alita would succeed in freeing her father. It wasn't that she doubted her daughter; she didn't doubt her for one moment. It was just that no one could even get in to speak to John, let alone free him. Only Ratcliffe's confession would set John free. "Yes. I will."

...oOo...

That night, Alita glanced behind her as she slipped out of her window into the tree.

"It's all right, Alita, come on! Your mother's light isn't on!" Naomi whispered.

"What about your father?" Alita asked.

"I told him. He knows. He waiting, come on!" Naomi said.

"Good! Thomas and Eric are waiting, right? Both of them?" Alita asked.

"Leilani went to make sure!" Retja whispered. "One thing's for sure, Alita, Ratcliffe doesn't want us breaking your father out!"

"That's for sure." Alita said as she hopped onto the ground. Leilani came running back.

"Thomas and Eric are waiting. No one else is up!" Leilani said.

"Good." Alita whispered back.

Alita, Retja, Leilani, and Naomi had figured out a way for Ratcliffe to reveal that he was alive.

"Are you alright? We heard about your grandfather." Naomi said. Alita nodded.

"I'm fine. We knew it was only a matter of time." Alita answered and smiled. She was sad that her grandfather was gone, but she knew he was with Alsoomse, and that was what mattered.

"Is your mother going to lead us now?" Leilani asked. Alita nodded.

"Yeah, she is. The first ever woman chief, but she is." She answered.

"Let's get this over with!" Naomi said. Alita nodded. She and her friends walked over the jail. Alita began to scratch at the wall with a rock, acting like she was about to break the wood. A hand on her shoulder stopped her. It was Retja and he was staring up into the face of Ratcliffe.

"You savages never give up, do you?" He asked. Alita narrowed her eyes.

"Nope!" She said and she stomped as hard as she could on his foot. Ratcliffe yowled in anger and ran after the kids.

_Now or never!_ Alita thought as she ran into the town square. Ratcliffe took out his sword.

"You little heathen! You don't get it, do you?" He snarled. "Your father is going to die and there's nothing you do about it!"

"That's what you think, Fatso!" Alita said. She dodged Ratcliffe's sword and ran behind him. Ratcliffe whirled around, waving the sword. Alita ran to ran towards the stocks at the center of town. Climbing on top of one, Alita called out to Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe whirled around again and ran towards Alita. He raised his sword above his head and was ready to strike when Alita hopped down and the sword wended itself into the wood of the stock. As Ratcliffe tried to pry it loose, but Alita kicked him from behind, and grabbed the sword and pointed it at Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe chuckled.

"Isn't this sweet? Smith's little daughter trying to save her father. Give it up little girl, you can't win." Alita pointed the tip of the sword at Ratcliffe.

"I may be just a girl, but I'm the daughter of John Smith and Pocahontas!" Alita growled.

"I don't care who you are! You can't win; give it up!"

"No! Ratcliffe, my father did nothing wrong! And you know it! All you wanted was war and riches! Admit it! You know it's the truth!"

"Listen close!" Retja commanded to Eric, who nodded.

"Alright! I admit it! I did want war with those savages! I want my gold! And I want revenge! Are you happy now?" Ratcliffe screamed. Alita smiled.

"Yes." She said as Eric and Thomas ran out from behind Thomas's house and captured him. Ratcliffe looked surprised.

"You're under arrest for treason against the crown." Eric said.

"I told you not to underestimate me!" Alita said as Naomi, Retja, and Leilani joined her.

"Alita?" Pocahontas called from the doorway.

"Mama!" Alita cried as she ran into her mother's arms.

"Oh Alita! What's going on?" Pocahontas asked.

"We did it, Pocahontas! We defeated Ratcliffe!" Naomi said.

"What?"

"Ratcliffe is now behind bars." Thomas said, coming up behind Naomi. "Now we wait to see if John will be released."

"I told you I could do it, Mama!" Alita said. She stopped. She hadn't freed her father yet. She couldn't even be sure it worked in the saving process at least.

_Alita, I am so proud of you._ Alsoomse whispered. Alita stopped again. If Alsoomse was talking to her, why wasn't Powhatan?

"Retja, Leilani, your mother will be wondering where you are. Let's get you home." Pocahontas said. Alita could tell she was in pain from her father's death.

_We've both lost our fathers, I guess. If this didn't work._ Alita thought as she and her mother walked Retja and Leilani home.

...oOo...

"Pocahontas! Alita!" Nakoma called from the other side of the village. Her husband, Tatoom, now the medicine man, followed behind her. Pocahontas and Alita stopped.

"Nakoma, what's wrong?" Pocahontas asked.

"Pocahontas, quickly, go with Tatoom!" Nakoma said. Pocahontas looked at Tatoom and followed him.

"Nakoma, what's wrong? Is the council not going to let her be chief?" Alita asked. Nakoma shook her head and smiled.

"No Alita. Your grandfather is alive."

**I'm sneaky and proud of it! **

**Review, por favor.**

**-Robin**


	19. Surprise

Chapter Eighteen

"He's what?" Alita asked, overjoyed. Nakoma smiled and nodded.

"Your grandfather is alive."

...oOo...

"How is this possible?" Pocahontas asked, tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks.

"Your father fainted, Pocahontas. Nothing more. Your father has worried so much for you and Alita since John was arrested." Tatoom explained.

"Thank you, Tatoom! Ratcliffe was arrested." Pocahontas said.

"How? When?" Tatoom asked, knowing who Pocahontas was talking about.

"Tonight. Alita and your son and daughter and Naomi did it. They got him to confess. I only hope this means John will be released." Pocahontas said, mentioning John's name quietly. She knew that if her John wasn't released, she and Alita would never be able to forgive Ratcliffe. And Pocahontas knew that if John wasn't freed, Alita would blame herself.

"I do, too." Tatoom said. He left Pocahontas with her father.

"Oh Father, wake up soon." Pocahontas said and she herself left.

...oOo...

Powhatan grew stronger within the next five days. A light snow began to fall – quite early for early October. Retja, Leilani, and Naomi spent hours running through the forest.

Alita, on the other hand, was quiet. She went along, but she didn't do as much. The twelfth was drawing closer.

"Alita, is there something wrong?" Retja asked. Alita sighed.

"Yes, actually, there is." Alita answered. "I'm scared."

"For your dad?" Naomi asked. Alita nodded.

"For my dad." She said.

"Look, Alita, if you didn't free him, you have to know you tried." Retja said, placing a comforting hand on Alita's shoulder.

"I know."

"And if you didn't succeed, well, you just didn't try hard enough." Retja said. Leilani cuffed him in he back of the head.

"Stop that!" She said.

"Thanks, Retja. I know I tried my best." Alita said. "I just hope I succeeded."

...oOo...

"Grandmother Willow?" Alita asked as she stepped into the sunlit glade with her mother.

"Pocahontas and Alita!" Grandmother Willow said. "How is everything going?"

"John isn't free yet." Pocahontas said. "But Alita, Retja, Leilani, and Naomi succeeded in putting Ratcliffe in jail."

"I'm so proud of you, Alita! But Pocahontas, I though Ratcliffe was dead?" Grandmother Willow asked.

"As did we. But he obviously didn't die, and now he's alive in the Jamestown jail…where John is." Pocahontas said quietly. Alita looked down at her hands. Her grandfather was stronger now than he had been in about three years, which amazed Alita and Pocahontas alike, but something was missing. Her father.

"When is he to be executed?"

"Tomorrow." Alita answered quietly.

"Oh dear." Grandmother Willow said.

"We'd best be getting home." Pocahontas said. Alita and Grandmother Willow nodded and Pocahontas and Alita walked home.


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue

"_No!" Pocahontas screamed as she threw herself across John. "If you kill him, you'll have to kill me, too."_

Alita sat up. It was morning. She looked outside. It was well past nine AM. Her father's execution! She'd missed it!

"Mama!" She wailed, jumping out of bed. She ran down the stairs to find her mother, her cheeks wet from crying.

"No!" Alita screamed, knowing what had happened. "Mama, where's Daddy?"

Pocahontas suddenly smiled and Alita felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She spun around to find her father standing behind her.

"_Daddy!_" Alita shrieked and threw herself into John's arms. "You're alive!"

"I am alive." John whispered, his voice clouded with love. "And I have you to thank for that. I don't what I'd do without you, Alita." He said.

Alita looked up at her father. He had grown thinner, but he was alive. Her father was alive.

"Your plan worked, Alita. You freed your father. I'm so proud of you." Pocahontas said, coming up beside her.

"I missed you so much." Alita sobbed, crying tears of happiness. John looked at Pocahontas.

"Your mother told me that you've been getting visions of our past." John said, stepping back. Alita nodded.

"Alsoomse came to me once and told me that she was the one giving me the visions." She explained. "Most of them involved Ratcliffe. She was trying to tell me he was the one targeting the Virginia Company men."

"Alsoomse came to you?" John asked. Alita nodded.

"Yes. She helped me figure out who it was. She also helped us defeat him."

"You truly are an amazing girl, Alita, and I'm very proud of you." Alita smiled and once again rushed forward into her father's arms.

Everything was back to normal.

The mystery was solved.

Her father was free.

Her family was whole again.

"Thank you, Alsy." Alita whispered. She felt something in her hand. She glanced down to reveal the compass. Alita smiled and curled her hand around the compass.

"I didn't get lost, Daddy." She said. "I didn't get lost."

**That's it! I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! You're the best!**

**-Robin**


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